Litter-carrier.



B. DAHL.

LITTER CARRIER.

APrLxoATIoN FILED 00T. 24. 1901.

i 902,860. Patented Nov.3,190a.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN DAHL, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

LITTER-CARRIER.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN DAHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Litterlarriers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to litter carriers and has for its object to provide a suitable end support for the track or line Wire, whereby, under the weight of a loaded bucket, the track will be inclined in one direction, and, under the Weight of an empty bucket, the track will be inclined in an opposite direction, such shifting movements being accomplished automatically.

To the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throu hout the several views.

Referring to the rawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, showing a portion of an elevated track or line wire, a bucket arranged to travel thereon, and the improved end support for the line wire; and Fig. 2 is a detail in horizontal section on the line :r2 wz of Fig. 1.

The numeral 1 indicates the elevated track or line wire, the numeral 2 the litter bucket pivotally supported by the depending prongs of a carrier frame 3 having wheels 4 that travel on the line wire or track 1. The numeral 5 indicates a latch lever which is subject to a tripping abutment 6 on the line wire 1 and operates a suitable bucket latch (not shown). These parts so far described may be of the standard or any suitable construction and their specific arrangement forms no part of the present invention.

The extended end of the line wire 1 is connected, as shown, by a U-shaped link 7 to a U-shaped plate 8. A pair of grooved wheels 9 are located between and journaled to the sides of the U-shaped plate 8 and are arranged to run upward and downward over an obliquely set supporting rail or bar 10, the ends of which are laterally extended and pivotally connected to threaded bolts 11.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led October 24, 1907.

Patented Nov. 3, 1968.

Serial No. 398,921.

These bolts 11 are passed through a suitable support, such as an upright post 12, and are adjustably connected thereto by nuts 13. The lower end of the supporting rail 10 is connected by a link 14 to a bracket 15 that is rigidly secured to the post 12. The link 14 holds the supporting rail 10 against vertical movements, and the nutted bolts make it possible to set the said supporting rail at any desired angle with respect to a vertical.

It should be assumed that the track wire 1 is anchored at its left hand end, in respect to F ig; 1, to a suitable support 16 at a point in orizontal line with the intermediate portion of the so-called supporting rail 10 and that the said track Wire is under considerable tension. The tension that will be put upon the track wire 1 may be varied by adjustments of the supporting rail 10 toward and from the support 12. The inner edge of the track rail must, of course, incline 1n such direction that the tension on the track Wire 1 will tend to cause the truck made up of the frame 8 and wheels 9 to travel u Ward on said supporting rail. To get t e proper adjustment, the empty bucketequipped carrier should be moved to the delivery end of the track wire, or approximately into the position shown in Fig. l, and the supporting rail 10 should be so adjusted, both in respect to its inclination to a erpendicular and in respect to the tension put upon the track wire, that the truck 8 9 will move upward into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, carrying With it the empty bucket. But the adjustment of the said supporting rail should also be such that the weight of the carrier and a loaded bucket will cause the said truck 8 9 to move downward on the track rail into the position indicated by full lines in Fig. 1. When the supporting rail is thus adjusted, it is evident that when the carrier with the loaded bucket is moved outward on the track rail, toward its dumping position, it will force the said track rail into an inclined position, shown by full lines in Fig. 1, so that the loaded carrier will move into its dumping position where its bucket will be tripped by engagement of the lever 5 with the abutment 6, and then said track rail will assume a reversely inclined position, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the empty bucket will automatically run back to the starting point or filling station. The link 7, it will be noted, connects the end of the track rail 1 to the truck frame 8 at a point between the two wheels 9, so that the two wheels will be held against the supporting rail 10 with equal pressure, regardless of the position of the said truck.

The supporting rail or track shifting de vice renders the carrier completely automatic in its dumping and returning action and, hence, saves considerable labor. It may be easily applied to any and all litter carriers wherein a bucket-equipped carrier truck is arranged to travel over a track wire or line, and, furthermore, may be applied to other carrier systems employlng similar structure, such, for instance, as parcel delivery devices for use in stores.

The term Wheel truck herein used, is used in a broad sense to include any kind of a truck having wheels or any kind of antiriction devices applied thereto.

What I claim is:

l. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a carrier track suitably anchored at one end, of a bucket-equipped carrier having wheels arranged to run over said track, and automatic means yieldingly supporting the other end of said track under such tension that the end of the track will automatically lower under the Weight of a loaded bucket, but will automaticaly rise and carry upward the empty bucket and its carrying truck, substantially as described,

2. In a device of the kind described, the combination With a track unyieldingly anchored at one end, of a bucket-equipped carrier truck arranged to run over said track and provided with a bucket tripping device arranged to be tripped by an abutment on said track at the delivery end of the latter, an adjustably -mounted obliquely set supporting rail at the delivery end of said track, and a wheeled truck connected to the de livery end of said truck and arranged to run over said supporting rail, the inclination of said supporting rail being such that the delivery end of said track Will automatically rise under the weight of an empty bucket and its carrying truck, but will automatically lower' under the weight of a loaded bucket and its carrier truck, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a track wire 1 suitably anchored at one end, of a bucketequipped carrier truck having wheels arranged to run over said track wire, a suitable support at the delivery end of said track Wire, an oblique supporting rail 10, a link holding said supporting rail against endwise movements in respect to said support, nut-equipped rods 11 connectin the upper and lower ends of said supporting rail 10 to said support, a U-shaped frame S embracing said supporting rail 10 and provided with Wheels 9 arranged to run on said rail, and a U-shaped link 7 connecting the delivery end of said track Wire to said frame 8, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN DAHL.

Witnesses H. D. KILGoRn, F. D. MERCHANT. 

